Going Mad
by LILYandJAMESareCUTE
Summary: MWPP Lily and friends have an intresting year ahead and they need to learn to laugh, love and live! LJ, RLOC, SBOC and maybe some PPOC.
1. The beginning

**Disclaimer: my legs are covered in blisters because I forgot to put sunscreen on them. I bet Jo wouldn't be that thick! Or live in a country where the sun burns this bad. **

**Chapter one: Real Friends.**

Lily looked at the note on her table, it read:

"Friends aren't people who "Could help you on the way to greatness",

Rather, they are greatness personified.

A person can't be individually characterized as "Brave at heart",

Only a friend can be.

"Whether we be old and bald, Or young with scabby knees",

A true friend is always there.

When a teacher asks a question, a friend would tell you the answer,

A true friend would look as "Stumped as you" to make you feel better.

If someone seems to "Really _hate_" you, a friend will complain with you,

A true friend will change the subject and never speak of the git again.

When you have a teacher "With eyes like a hawk",

A real friend will be the distraction, while you sneak out.

Can I be your friend?

Friendingly friendly,

James."

She shook her head; he was always making up words. He could be a real git and this wasn't the first time he had asked this. Usually he asked if she'd go out with him, and she had to admit, this was an improvement. He hadn't actually asked her out since year six and it was nearly year seven. Not that she'd actually admit it, but she kind of missed the compliments and the requests to date her. Lily looked into her dressing-table mirror and sighed, running a hand through her crinkly hair. Lily had grown to like her hair last year, thanks to James' constant compliments. Lily's hair wasn't curly and it wasn't frizzy, just really wavy. And red, not orange, red. She glanced down to a photo, bright against the plain white surface; it was taken a matter of weeks ago, down by the lake at Hogwarts. There was Ebony Davids, the tomboyish Quidditch player, who had light brown skin and straight black hair with dark pink streaks through it, which reached to her shoulder blades. She was smart but didn't enjoy showing it. She always had a smile and a joke for everyone. Then there was Samantha or Sam, who's a quiet person, you know the type, quiet around everyone, but loud when with friends. She had brown, wavy hair which was usually in a plait which reached to her waist. She was more of a flower child, rainbows and skirts, but she wasn't actually as relaxed as she seemed. Where Eb was more into pink and black, she was pastels or greens, blues and pinks. Then there was Lily, her hair in two plaits, and with her arms around her two best-friends. Suddenly four boys came bounding into the picture and the real Lily laughed as they pushed their way through the girls, so instead of it being Eb, Lily and Sam, it was now Sirius, Eb, James, Lily, Remus, Sam and Peter. When Eb had first come to Hogwarts from Beauxbatons, she had marveled at the number of studs at Hogwarts, especially the Marauders, right up until she found out more about them! The boys in the picture all put their arms around the girls, and the weirdest part of it was was that the picture Lily didn't move. In real life, Lily had run with the girls, laughing, into the tree.

Lily looked at her reflection in the mirror, with her green eyes, the red funky hair… she could never see what James saw in her. He always seemed to see the good in her and she could never see it. James was a complete prat around her, but she saw his true colours when he spoke to Remus about the full moon, or Sirius and his family. Oh yes, she knew about that, perhaps not everything with regards to Sirius, but enough to know of his horrible family. Lily and her friends actually got on pretty well with the Marauders in general, and though it wasn't widely known (only one person besides the girls), but they actually came up with some of their pranks. The girls told Remus, who they were on best terms with the idea and helped him with the spells and in return he'd try and keep James and Lily civil, which didn't work out too well. It was silly really, because the two were actually pretty similar, they both did well regardless the amount of studying they did, they both loved pulling jokes on people, they were both pretty popular and both genuinely nice people, oh and they both had members of the opposite sex after them all the time. Well James had random girls dropping at his feet but Lily had them dropping from afar, any male that came within 100 feet of flirting with her got all their clothes dyed pink and the Marauder crest (which was the school crest, but with a stag, rat, dog and wolf [clockwise from top left) permanently stained on them with magic. This had caused some problems between James and Lily and he had finally stopped. Some guys were brave enough to try, but most respected the Marauders highly and didn't try to win Lily's heart.

Lily grinned, she'd come up with the perfect prank over the last couple of days and she couldn't wait to tell Remus. That's where she was going today actually, to Diagon Alley. She was going to get her school stuff and meet her friends, then go back to Eb's house for the rest of the holidays. Eb's family was nearly pureblooded but her mum was a muggleborn, so she still had a telephone and a letter box, but an absolute mansion for a house, complete with secret passages and Quidditch pitch! She had three older brothers though and she said that that cramped her style. Lily and Sam didn't mind, they were pretty cool, but Eb claimed they were the reason she had turned out so weird, but Lily and Sam claimed all the credit for that. The best part was that they could do magic in the house no matter their age because they had an adult witch and wizard there. But this year, it didn't matter, Lily, Eb and Sam were all above the age limit, plus they knew more magic and they all rocked at some form of magic, Lily at Charms, Eb at Transfiguration and Sam at Defence Against the Dark Arts so they could get Jacob, Isaac and Josh back.

Lily looked down at her clothes- slightly flared jeans, and a fitted v-necked light-green jumper, over a white t-shirt- and then at her make-up, choosing brown eyeliner, brown mascara and some clear gloss. She picked up her brown over-the-shoulder bag and went to say goodbye to her mum, going down stairs to the kitchen. She looked in and saw her mum at the sink.

"Hey mum? I'm going now; I'll write to you every week, just make sure Petunia doesn't kill Clabbert, ok?" she said, naming her pigmy-frogmouth owl. Her mum looked at her and walked over.

"Ok baby, take care and be careful! Don't forget to write to us and remember to give everyone a fair chance, ok? Ok, see you later sweetie," she said evenly, kissing her daughters forehead. Lily walked off, wondering if her mum knew Legilimency, as she had probably not been giving James a fair chance. Yes, she had decided (as of this morning) to be his friend. As long as he wasn't going to be an idiot. But she could never put her finger on what she didn't like about him. She hadn't wanted a boyfriend to start with and then it was that he was too different, then it was that her friends didn't get along with him (all in her head), then his friends were such idiots that she had thought that he might be too. Now it was that she didn't know what to think and his reputation was there. She had found herself relaxing slightly in his company in the last year and maybe even trusting him slightly but… there was still a wall there. She didn't know what it was, but it was there. She walked around the back of her house and Apparated into the Leaky Cauldron.

At first she couldn't see her friends, then she saw the Marauders at a table and she walked over there.

"Hey guys, how's your holidays been?" she asked. At once and as one, they all stood up and bowed. Lily grinned; they were so funny and stupid at the same time. They stood straight and walked so they were in front of her; Peter, Remus, James and Sirius and bowed again. One by one they bent down on one knee and kissed her hand. She started laughing and they grinned at her. Especially James. When the line got to Sirius, he thought the mood was too somber so he licked her hand instead, causing her to jump backwards and squeal indignantly, while three hands whacked Sirius on the back of the head. After glaring at Sirius who merely grinned, James waddled forward, still on one knee and bent his head forward.

"Good lady, I beg forgiveness from you for my friend, it isn't his fault his mother dropped him on his head when he was a child." James said sincerely while Sirius swelled with indignation and then shrugged, knowing it was probably true, knowing his family. Remus was going red in the face, trying hard not to laugh, while Peter was stuffing his fist in his mouth trying not to laugh. Lily who had a small smile on her face, quickly wiped it away and placed her hand on his head.

"Good sir, as it is you who asks, of course I'll forgive him" Lily said sincerely. She took her hand away then started laughing so hard she had to sit down. The spell was broken and the boys all stood up laughing and sat at the table again.

"Wait," Lily said suddenly, "I don't want to sit next to Sirius, the prat'll probably stick something in my drink!" she continued, half laughing, but everyone around the table knew it was probably true. So Remus shrugged and sat next to Lily, he didn't mind, they had been friends forever and good friends since she had found out about his furry little problem.

"I don't suppose you lot actually ordered your drinks?" upon seeing four incredulous expressions and nods, she rolled her eyes. Of course they'd ordered drinks, when weren't they?

"Don't s'pose you thought and ordered me one?" Again her statement was met with nods. Wait, what the hell did they order? Sirius was smirking so it was probably nothing good.

"Don't worry, I ordered it, and it was just cherry syrup and soda for you and hot chocolate for the other two." Remus comforted, grinning at the same time. There was something going on with this…

"What are you lot drinking then?" Lily asked, eyes narrowed slightly.

"Well, Firewhiskey for me," Sirius said like it was nothing to be ashamed of, drinking hard alcohol at nine in the morning, "Gillywater for Prongs here, tea and Butterbeer for Moony and Butterbeer for Wormy." Sirius finished, looking thoughtful. How he got to seventh year Lily could hardly guess. She rolled her eyes at him and looked around and saw a welcome sight: her friends coming through the door!

"EB! SAM!" She yelled jumping up and running over to them and nearly flattening them with her enthusiasm. They all laughed and the boys came running over and joined the group hug. They laughed and the girls looked at each other and nodded. In under a second they had their wands out and the four boys were blasted backwards. They laughed and walked over to the table, Lily leading and discussing holidays so far.

"There are so many hot guys in Ireland, all with those cute Irish accents!" Eb says and Lily and Sam roll their eyes.

"But the Quidditch! Man, the Kenmare Kestrels can really play! We went and they let us kids practice with them, said we were the best they'd seen so young." Eb said proudly. She and James had both been on the team since second year. They were both brilliant.

The drinks eventually came and they drank them and talked some more, and Remus asked Lily quietly if she'd thought up any more pranks and she told him the one she had been working on. They finished their drinks and they split up, the girls to get school stuff and the boys to Apparate to Hogsmeade for Zonkos.

"See you later!" They all called out to each other and they went in opposite directions. Lily looked over her shoulder and saw James looking at her over his shoulder. He flushed and grinned and she blushed and smiled back. Why on earth was James looking at her cause for a blush? Was she going mad or finally submitting to the Potter charm? She half hoped it was the first possibility.

**Ok people, you know the dealio, you read, you review! Whoa, amazing concept! Sorry if it seems weird, but right now I'm kind of sick and I'm sunburnt to a crisp coz I went on a 17 kilometer canoe trip yesterday, so I'm stuffed! I know I should probably be working on **_**Faints, Paints and Potter?**_** but I have writers block!!! Oh and the quotes at the top (in James' note) came from Philosophers Stone. **


	2. The amazing fighting midgets!

_(This chapter is dedicated to my new and amazing beta, Punkprincess, who is my real-life best friend!! Whoop! Thanks Krys and thank you everyone reading for well, reading!)_

* * *

**The amazing fighting midgets!**

"James! James! James!" Sirius cried sprinting into the James' massive bedroom. James himself was lying on his bed, happily rereading "_Which Broomstick?_" for the tenth time in the past two weeks. Sirius running in like this was not a good thing. Sirius could be as mad as an enraged goat when he got it in his head to be, and it appeared this was one of those times. James could only guess what was going through Sirius' mind right now and none of the ideas he came up with were very encouraging.

"Yes Sirius?" James asked, apparently calm but inwardly unnerved. Damn Sirius and his insanity issues!

"James, did you _know_?" asked Sirius, squinting suspiciously at James, who shook his head, how the ruddy hell was he supposed to know what that meant?

"Sirius, talk sense you evil little man!" Seeing as Sirius was only about 3 inches shorter then James himself, this was an insult. Sirius had lived here the past summer and for most of the time in the previous summers, but apparently he had discovered something new.

"Did you _know_, midget?!" Now this was uncalled for and totally unfair, seeing as Sirius was the short one, not James.

"What did you call me, tiny?" James asked standing.

"Why I believe I called you midget, midget," Sirius said, walking over to James.

"Really? Well you're going to have to pay then!" James said, and he and Sirius launched themselves at each other at the same time, in a Muggle duel. Random mutterings, such as "Call **me** a midget will you shrimp?" and "My height is made up for by **my** intense good looks!" At the point where James was on top, Remus walked in and quickly stepped back out, cringing.

"Guys, could you get a room please?" He asked, shielding his eyes and re-entering the room. James looked up and grinned, which Sirius took as an opportunity to twist and land on top of James.

"Well actually Moony, we had a room until you busted in and interrupted us," Sirius said, also grinning from the floor.

"Speak for yourself Padfoot, I mean, I know I'm gorgeous but I don't swing that way and I would say sorry but I'm not and I don't lie," James interrupted in one breath and tackled Sirius to the bottom again.

"Look guys, I realize you love each other, but find another way to express it will you? Midgets gone crazy really isn't my favourite form of entertainment right now." Remus said with a tiny grin. Sirius and James looked at each other and tackled Remus to the ground at the same time. Moments later a shorter boy walked in and took in the scene.

"Oi, what you ickle boys doing, having a threesome?!" A mass of yells met this remark and the young man was immediately tackled too.

**Meanwhile, several houses down the road. **

"Eb, I'm bored, entertain me," Lily said, sitting on her friends trunk, which lay at the end of her bed. Yes, Lily and Sam were at Eb's mansion of a house, right down the road from the Marauders. Eb, Sam and Remus had organized this, to get James and Lils together, but Sirius (who would have blabbed) and Lily had no idea that they were even on the same street, and although James knew that Eb lived down the road he didn't know Lily was there. Sam was sitting on the window seat, looking at the orchid with a faraway look in her eyes.

"Lils, there's your entertainment," Eb said, nodding in Sam's direction. Lily grinned evilly, someone was thinking of a certain fair-haired Marauder.

"So Sam?" Lily said slyly, unfortunately for Sam, she was so deep in her thoughts she merely grunted and was unaware of Lily's look of utmost mischief.

"What do you think of Remus?" Lily asked evenly and quietly. They had done this before with Sam over previous boys, it was like talking to someone when they were asleep, they didn't even notice, merely answered.

"Remus? He's sweet, kind and funny…" Sam said, a glazed look and happy smile taking over her face. Lily looked at her face almost wistfully; she wished she could find someone who made her look like that, blissfully happy. Lily took out her tape recorder (A/N: I don't know if they had these, but its older then a mobile phone, so we'll just pretend) and pressed 'record'.

"So Sam, do you like Remus as more then a friend?" She asked slyly.

"Yeah, I think I do…" suddenly Sam turned and looked at them.

"Oh Merlin, I didn't just say that did I? Oh crud, crud, crud! No, no, no! Nein, ich gern Remus nicht! Nicht gern! Nein, nein, nein!" Sam cried, forgetting the others didn't speak a word of German. (A/N: it means "No, I don't like Remus! Don't like! No, no, no!") Sam's family had all been German, except her mum, who was English. Her dad's parents didn't approve of an English wife for their son and had poisoned him and his young wife. Sam's dad had got wind of the plan however and had sent baby Sam over to England to live with her other grandparents, which had been the reason he too was poisoned. Lily stopped the recording and tapped it with her wand, sending it soaring into her trunk.

"Sam, you're as bad a liar as Lily, we can all tell you like Remus, just like everyone can tell Lily likes James, except the boys themselves can't tell, it's called 'denial', I believe." Sam said, with an extra smirk for Lily. This was the last straw, Sam and Lily nodded at each other.

"Oh Sirius, could you possibly carry my books?" Lily said in a really high pitched voice, and fluttering her eyelashes.

"That test was so hard, but I bet you found it easy, because you're so good at Transfiguration!" Sam continued, with the same voice and expression as Lily. Ebony jumped up and a pillow fight began.

Back to the hotties(Author slaps Sirius)** Back to James' house.**

Sirius, James, Peter and Remus all walked down to the pool at the bottom of James' house, Remus with a secretive smirk that the others all failed to see. All the boys had towels around their necks and swimming trunks on. James was thankful that they had finally convinced Sirius to destroy his hideous Speedos, they were disturbing! Sirius looked at James.

"Race you?" He said turning to his left to see James- except James wasn't there; he was already nearly there, sprinting.

"Oi Potty, you cheater, get your arse back here!" Sirius yelled then muttered "Arse" and went tearing after him and dived into the pool. Peter followed and did a cannonball, wetting Sirius and James who had just resurfaced.

"I'm going to go see if your mum has any lemonade James, I'll be back soon," Remus said, turning and starting to walk back up the sloping lawns. He really did get some lemonade, but then went to open the door. And who should be standing, about to knock then Eb, Sam and behind them Lily?

"Is it done?" Eb asked immediately and Remus nodded, then stood back for them to enter and as one they all smothered him in a hug. Lily was in an emerald green bikini, Sam in yellow and Eb in dark blue.

"Oh hey Remus, do you live here?" Lily asked, genuinely curious, she had never really pictured Remus in a house this big. James yes, Sirius' would be darker and danker in her opinion but Remus and Peter had never crossed her mind as the big house people. Wait… If Remus was here, so were the other idiots! Then suddenly Lily became aware she was hugging a shirtless Remus, and stepped back blushing very slightly.

"Oh nah, this is James' house, come on, lets go outside shall we?" Remus said, chuckling and steering Lily outside while the girls followed, trying hard not to laugh. Eb sent a Patronus down to tell the boys to come up.

"Wait, James? James Potter? Eb, can we go back home now? Please?" Lily said, panicking slightly. She had Remus on her left, pulling her slightly, Sam on her right, also pulling her and Eb behind her, cackling silently and pushing her.

"Lily, you agreed!" Eb said, trying to keep her voice even and not start laughing.

"I agreed to go to your 'friend's house' and swim, not go to an ex-enemies houses for a dip in their pool!" Lily hissed to her. Just then James and Sirius came running, and grinned identical evil grins when they saw the girls. They both ran straight into the group and everyone joined in the group hug, laughing. No one except Lily and James noticed they were only hugging each other. No one except Lily felt her heart speed up and the warm feeling flooding from her head to her toes, or the sense of security she felt in his arms. No one but James felt the intense joy and happiness he felt, having Lily in his arms. James gave her a small squeeze and felt her return the pressure.

"I love you," he whispered nearly silently. As he said it, he knew it to be true. Then the moment was broken and they all pulled apart, Lily blushing slightly and James with a tiny grin playing on his lips.

"James, shall we?" Sirius asked, a knowing smirk on his face, nodding to Lily. James had an identical smirk and swiftly picked Lily up, while Sirius and Remus did the same for Eb and Sam respectively, until Eb punched Sirius in the nose, causing him to drop her and continue running, grabbing her hand and holding his nose. Sam screamed and told Remus to put her down _right now_, which he did, then gave her a piggy back instead. James on the other hand ignored Lily's screams and carried her bridal style and jumped in the pool with her, screaming still. The others followed closely behind, with Eb screaming and Sam nearly splitting Remus in half because she was squeezing him so hard. Remus didn't seem to mind, he continued to run then jump. Sirius pulled Eb into the water and she deliberately landed on top of him. James called out for Peter to turn the bubbles on which he did, by waving his wand at the pump at the end of the pool. Green and red bubbles starting issuing from the edges of the pool. Lily had a funny feeling she knew why they were the same colour as her hair and eyes and were in James Potter's pool, and one look at his blushing cheeks confirmed her suspicions but she kept quiet. There was no point in embarrassing him further, especially seeing as they were at his house.

They swam around a bit and then went up to the house for lunch, provided by Mrs Potter. Lily walked in the door and saw Mrs Potter trying to balance everything and ran forward to help. To Lily's great surprise, James had also run forwards and was helping his mum out too. The others had decided that Lily may need some time to meet and bond with her future mother-in-law and so they headed into the lounge room and started playing Exploding Snap. James placed the tray he had caught onto the counter and Lily picked up a bowl and continued stirring.

"Mum, this is Lily Evans, Lily, this is my mum," James said, sending a significant look to his mum. If she said something embarrassing, he was going to die!

"Nice to meet you Lily, I've heard so much about you; it's nice to finally meet you in the flesh. You look just as gorgeous as James described." Mrs Potter said, shaking Lily's hand over the bowls they were both mixing. It was difficult to see who was blushing more, Lily or James.

"Thank you, I've heard a lot about you from James and I've heard a lot about your cooking from Sirius. He was particularly fond of your lasagne recipe; could you please teach it to me?" Lily asked quietly. Inwardly James whooped; trust Lily to know exactly the way to compliment his mum. His mum smiled, she had the same reddish coloured hair as Lily, but she had the same brown eyes as James and she was about 5"6', almost the same height as Lily. James grinned as he grabbed the spoon off Lily, who had been stirring the brownie batter for later. Lily looked in shock at James who pulled it out of her reach when she tried to grab it and licked it. Lily grinned and reached on tippy toes to grab James' arm and pulled it down. But she couldn't, so instead she licked his arm, it had always worked with Petunia and it worked now. James dropped his arm and wiped it on a tea towel. Lily grabbed the spoon and triumphantly licked the other side, smirking at James. Behind them they heard Mrs Potter laugh and turned to look at her, having forgotten she was there.

"Good on you Lily, way to put James in his place! Well done! You could have been a Marauder, no problems. Oh I approve, you are so much better then the other girls Georgina is trying to set him up with!" Mrs Potter said still chuckling. Lily looked up at James, slight hurt in her eyes; James was being set up with another girl?

"My grandma Georgina likes to try and set all her relatives up at the family ball in December. Sirius never minds, but I have an even better girl in mind," James said, looking directly at her.  
It made her heart melt and she doubted it was madness she was suffering, she thought it more likely it was the Potter charm she was suffering from.


	3. Flying high

**Flying high.**

Lily/3rd person POV!

Lily looked at James as he continued stirring something else, as Mrs. Potter said that Sirius ate enough for twenty people and that they had to prepare enough for 50 so they wouldn't go hungry. Lily watched as a grin caught the side of his mouth and he snorted slightly at what his mum was saying. He looked so sweet, with that little dimple thing in the side of his mouth. But Lily couldn't like him. She couldn't. She was Head Girl and she couldn't be seen fraternizing with Marauders, it'd damage her image! Lily couldn't imagine what life would be like with James (or rather she _wouldn't_ imagine it as it was too tempting) but at the same time, she couldn't imagine a life without him. No matter what she thought of him, he had become part of her, he had changed her, for better or worse and she would never be the same again. His constant teasing and perfect grades along with her love of revenge and competitiveness had made her into a model student, but one with a sense of fun. As she looked at him, she realized she liked him. Yes liked him. Not _like_ like, but she did accept his friendship and she was glad. She felt happy and at ease around him and she liked his mum too.

Yes, James had changed her and she liked him being around her. She had even begun to like the other Marauders, even Peter. She had always liked Remus, he was sweet and she thought he was a perfect match to Sam. She had once liked Remus (It was like first year, ok?!) but one day he'd just… backed off slightly and she got this vibe almost from him, saying they were better as friends, and after a few weeks, she'd decided that he was definitely right. She had seen even at the tender age of eleven that Sam had a crush on Remus and she was more then happy with it. She had James. _I have to stop thinking that, it sounds bad even in my own head! _Lily thought, giving herself a mental shake. James was sweet, he was Quidditch captain, he had perfect grades, he was loyal to his friends, he was now kind to the younger students, and he sounded perfect when it was said like that. But he still got more detentions then anyone else besides possibly Sirius and he was never serious and she could never believe him when he said he liked her.

She looked into his eyes now as he asked his mum for the salt. He looked up and grinned. Lily saw his raised eyebrow, black as his hair but somehow… gentle. She saw a sparkle of light reflect on his glasses when he looked up at her and she grinned back. At least she thought it was on his glasses, but when he looked in the cupboards behind her, it wasn't there, but the lighting was the same. Puzzling… Lily's friends were constantly telling her that James and she made a perfect match and that he genuinely liked her. But Lily could never see it in his eyes; she could never say that he liked her. Every time she said this, Eb would roll her eyes and say that love makes people blind, she just didn't know anyone could be _**this**_ blind. To be perfectly honest, she didn't know why anyone would like her. She was not one to be annoyed, she didn't usually shout, usually she shut it in and pranked the donkey back. She got perfect grades but most guys didn't want a girl who could tell you ten ways to knock someone out and she only got the grades by studying for ages before tests. She had been told she was nice but she never believed anyone who said it. She had friends, yes brilliant friends but she never felt like she was nice or kind to people, she always felt every scathing comment was the only words she said. Over all she was a fairly happy person but she did have her issues, just like everyone else. When James was there though, all the self-consciousness just slipped away. It was like he was a flannel and all her inadequacies were just wiped away.

James' POV

"Hey Lils, grab the salt would you?" Merlin, the girl is not listening! Desperate times, desperate measures! "Babe, the salt is behind you, grab it please?" She turns absentmindedly and seizes it and gives it to me.

"There you go sweetie," she says. What the ruddy hell?! She… She… I'm speechless. She doesn't even notice!

"REMUS!" I yell. She's still in her state. Oh Merlin! Remus comes running in, looks from mum, who is smiling and trying to look like she's not, with very little success, to Lily who is humming and stirring, to me, who is staring at Lily in horror. Sirius, Eb, Sam and Peter (in that order) come to a skidding stop just outside the door.

"James?" Remus asks curiously, "What did you say?!"

"I asked for the salt and she ignored me, then I said "Babe, the salt is behind you, grab it please?" and she gave it to me. She responded to the name 'babe', but not Lils. When _**I**_ said it. Explanation?" I ask, tearing my eyes from Lily's face and looking at Remus. Whose eyes are nearly popping out of his face. Thanks for that support _mate_! My mum starts laughing and I look at her, stunned. This is serious and she's **laughing**?!

"You never know, maybe the Potter charm is working. I was 17 when your dad finally convinced me he wasn't a total loser and we got married the next year, so maybe it's like the red hair thing, hereditary?" Mum says. I think about this for a second, then look at the other Marauders.

"Nahhhh!" We all say at the same time, but the girls don't say anything. I look at them and they look at each other.

"I don't know James; your mum may have a point…" Eb says hesitantly.

"Enough," A new voice says "I'm standing right here guys, will you stop talking about me as if I'm not?!" I turn to Lily and she grins at me. I grin back, very cautiously. Lily has officially lost it. I mean, I've never even pretended to understand her, but this is just beyond weird. How much of that did she listen to?

"Anyone up for a game of truth or dare?" Lily asks, pointing out the door to the pool. We all nod dumbly. I honestly don't think I could have spoken if I'd wanted to. What did this mean? Was she messing around and just seeing how I'd react or was it a joke? Or could she possibly like me? I doubt it, Lily would never like me. "Relax mate, she'll come round. Your mum's right, look at her and your dad, they're still disgustingly in love after how many decades?" Sirius says, coming to walk next to me. I smile and grin at him. Sirius is the brother I never had; he's the best mate who for which I'd die rather then let anything happen to and he can sometimes be the sane one I need. Like in fifth year when Snivellus and I were having a duel after the OWL exams. Snivelly tried to hex me and Sirius helped defend me. I know he'd rather die then see me die too. We get down to the pool and as we are all in our bathers still, we jumped into the pool.

"Ok, Sirius, you can go first," Moony calls to Sirius, who grins evilly and looks at me. Aw crap!!

"Lilykins, truth or dare?" Sirius asks, turning to her instead. Wait, why was he looking at me then?! That boy is a ruddy loon!

"Dare," she say's defiantly. Damn, you gotta admit, the girls got guts. I shoot a look at Padfoot; under no circumstances was he to bring me into this. He scowls at me and I grin.

"Fine, coz James is a spoil sport," Sirius says, glaring at me and causing everyone else to look at me then back at Sirius, "I dare you to… Ride a broomstick!" Sirius finishes triumphantly. I would like to mention that Lily is terrified of heights.

"Padfoot, no." I say quietly. He glances at me and nods, the smile slipping off his face, he understands that if someone doesn't want to do something they don't have to I mean, his family made him do stuff he hated and now he hates them!

"Ok Lilylins, you have to ride on James' broom with James to hold onto, is that ok?" Sirius asks gently, his grin returning. See? All my friends like Lily and her friends; and all her friends like me and the Marauders, why does she have the problem with me?! I look at Lils to see how she's taking it. No matter how nicely Sirius had said it, Lily knew it was a dare and she could see that Sirius was determined to get her in the air. As I watched her I could almost see the clogs working. If she refused, while she did have reason, it would show everyone her fear and how much it affected her. She glanced at me and I wadded over to her and put an arm on the side of the pool behind her and bent down.

"Lils, look, I know you're terrified of heights, but I won't let anything happen to you ok? You'll be safe up there with me, probably safer then down here with Sirius," I say quietly in her ear and watch her laugh and I laugh myself. "You don't have to, but I'll be there with you, all you need to do is hang on. After all, I didn't get Quidditch captain last year for nothing, did i?" I say, still quietly and I'm laughing to take the arrogance out of the words. Lily looks at me and laughs softly. No one else has heard our exchange and they all look at us.

"I'll do it," Lily says confidently and I grin at her. She is scared shitless, you can tell by her eyes, but she appears to be having the time of her life, confident and cool as a cucumber. I jump out of the pool with Padfoot and lean down to offer my hand to the girls. Lily looks at me and I see a small evil smile and then she's grabbed my hand and pulled me back in. I resurface and look at her with my mouth open.

"Oh nuh uh!" I say indignantly. No girl pulls me into a pool!

"_Accio_ broom!" I yell, grabbing my wand off the poolside table. I grab Misty (my broom) as she zooms toward us. I mount her at a run as she comes and I grab Lily's hand and we're rising at a fast and steady pace.

Unfortunately Lily's not actually on, she's dangling and I'm holding on to her wrist. It's ok though, we are only about six feet high, so I hoist her up and she crosses her arms.

"Lily hold onto me!" I yell back to her as I start to ascend again. I feel her arms tighten around me and I hold her hands on my chest after we level off, waiting, just waiting.

"JAMES! HOLD ONTO THE BLOODY BROOM!" Lily screams. I continue holding her hands though.

"Lily, have we started to plummet back to earth? Have we crashed? Has anything happened? No, we are still level and fine. Lily, look, I'd never do anything to hurt you or that could possibly hurt you, ok? I mean it; you are perfectly safe here with me. Look, I'll show you, hold onto the broom really tightly," I pause and feel her hands leave my chest. I jump slightly and then I'm crouching on my broom handle. I might mention here that we are over 100 feet in the air and I don't have anything holding me on.

"JAMES! STOP IT!" I hear Lily scream. I reach behind me and grab her hand and let go of my broom with the other hand.

"Lily, do you trust me?" I ask, turning slightly so I can see her.

"I- what?!" she asks me, looking down, then at me.

"Do you trust me?" I ask again.

"I- yes, James, I do…" she says becoming more confident with every word. I nod, grab her hand and stand. I pull her up with me and she looks at me.

"James? I don't like this…" I pull her closer and hold her in a hug.

"Lily, it's fine, you're safe. I'm here and nothing will happen to you. Nothing is ever going to happen to you when I'm here, ok?" I look down and see her nod. I smile; she finally trusts me. I give a shrill whistle and after a minute or two a second broom flies up next to me.

"This is my old broom, my trainer one. I think Muggle's have training wheels on those funny things with two wheels… this is like that, but with beginners spells on it." I explain and direct her on how to get on. She gets on and looks at me.

"Off you go" I say and direct Misty down slightly, Lily staring at me.

"Wait!" Lily calls and points her broom down, not even thinking.

"Come get me!" I yell and I hear her laugh. I turn around and she's catching up! She's a natural! After several minutes of chasey, I grab her hand and start pulling her down.

"Come on or Sirius'll start thinking of disgusting reasons we aren't back yet." I say and we go down, landing side by side and still holding hands. I feel her give my hand a gentle squeeze and I return the pressure. Suddenly the moments over and we all realize how late it is.

"Do you guys want to stay the night?" Sirius asks. I stare at him, this is _**my**_ house! Sirius simply shrugs at me, he doesn't care.

"I've already sent the owl Sirius; you're the one who told me too!" Eb says accusingly.

"Shut up, Prongs thinks this is his house and that people should ask him first before they stay. What a loser!" Sirius says, starting quiet and becoming louder, earning himself a punch, which I delivered. We all laugh and head up to the house.

**Ok people, I've typed, you review.**** Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed and added this story to alerts, etc!!! That is all. :D **


	4. Eavesdropping gets you nowhere

Um… hi

**Um… hi? Sorry… here's the next chapter though, so you can't eat me!! Yay! This last got updated in… um, November, so I'll try to update sooner? Read and review and I'll always love you!**

_PREVIOUSLY:_

"_Do you guys want to stay the night?" Sirius asks. I stare at him, this is __**my**__ house! Sirius simply shrugs at me, he doesn't care._

"_I've already sent the owl Sirius; you're the one who told me too!" Eb says accusingly._

"_Shut up, Prongs thinks this is his house and that people should ask him first before they stay. What a loser!" Sirius says, starting quiet and becoming louder, earning himself a punch, which I delivered. We all laugh and head up to the house._

Ebony's point of view.

We walked up to the house, and on the way through we grabbed a couple of cookies and went to sit in James' room in a circle. Well kind of, James and Sirius were dangling off the bed, Lily and I were in the bean bag and Remus and Sam were lying on some pillows on the floor.

"Sam, truth, dare or would you rather?" I call out and everyone falls silent.

"Would you rather!" she replies. I think for a moment and think of a sly one.

"If you had to repopulate the whole earth, would you do it with Remus or Sirius?" I ask. Insert evil cackle here.

"Remus, Sirius' kids would probably try to walk on the water and drown. Sorry Sirius." She said calmly. Damn that girl! That was her cue to admit her undying love to Remus. Damn it!

"James?" Sam asks, too lazy to complete the question. What a lazy witch that girl is! Humph!

"Dare." What a bloody idiot. See, people think that the Marauders are pranksters, and the Marauders think that I'm a prankster, but no, they should see Sam and Lily. Those two are masters. Therefore, you do not ever use that tone of voice, with Sam when you say 'dare'. That's just asking for trouble.

"I dare you to kiss Lily."

"WHAT?!" Six voices yelled, and Lily sat bolt upright next to me, pushing me off the bean bag. Sirius and James had both fallen off the bed, and Remus was now watching warily.

"Sam? Sammy, haven't I always been nice to you? _What did I do to deserve __**this**_?! No offense James," she said, still shocked. He merely nodded, but he looked slightly hopeful. Lily, behind the desperate expression might have looked a wee bit excited too. I mean, come on, it's not everyday that you get to kiss James Potter, well, Lily could, if she wanted to, I'm sure James wouldn't mind.

"Hey, this is pay back for tricking me into spilling my guts about who I like." Sam said, glaring.

"Wait," I held up my hand, "So you _do_ like him?" Sam blushed scarlet, and Lily and I jumped on her, shoving Remus (the object of her affections) out of the way. We all squealed like thirteen year olds, it was really sad, but still hilarious.

"Anyway," Sam says, emerging with some difficulty, "We need to get on with this dare." She continues triumphantly.

"Saaaam…" Lily whines. She just doesn't want to appear too eager, I see straight through her. I mean, she gets along with James, his mum, she responds when he calls her 'babe', these are all signs of love in the making, I'm just saying.

"Doesn't James get a say?" I ask, curious about his reaction. And boy, does James look surprised to be asked.

"I don't think I really get a choice, it is a dare, but I'm not going to complain if I get to kiss the best looking girl in the school." He says, with a small grin. I duck my face to hide my smile and Sirius is laughing from the floor.

"Look at her face!" Remus said, laughing. Indeed, Lily's face was bright red. We all started laughing, and Lily quietly snuck out of the room.  
"James, you need to do it or you'll both have 'I love Severus Snape' on your foreheads for a week." Remus points out.

"I'll be back, continue without us for awhile…" he said disappearing. For about fifteen minutes, we just played would you rather, not wanting to continue daring until they came back. Finally they did, but neither would say anything. They walked in and went to their separate positions, with small smiles on their faces but no explanation. Those… Sugar quill heads!! I roll my eyes.

"Fine, Remus, put the spell for Truth on them," I said grimly. Remus complies and looks around at everyone.

"Sirius, is it true that… you like someone?" I ask. I am sincerely curious to know what he says and this disturbs me slightly. He seems to struggle with himself (more likely: the spell), looking at me the whole time. Finally he says;

"Yes," and then he shuts his mouth, fast. Then he smirks, and I am scared.

"Remus; who do you like?" that arrogant toerag, I thought, using James' nicknames. He didn't ask if he liked anyone, he just asked who, _specifically_, did he like! Bloody –beep-. Remus looks at Sirius in shock for a second.

"Sirius, no fair, let us girls get out of here before we make him spill the beans," Lily said quickly. I see James shoot Lily, then Remus a look, and then his eyes flashed back to Lily.

"Girls, go, Lily technique two," he said. Lily looked at him in shock and I looked at Lily, technique two? What the hell? Lily dragged me out and conjured a glass out of thin air. I closed the door when Sam came through and glanced at her to see her copying Lily.

"What are we doing?" Sam asked.

"Shh," Lily said, pressing the glass against the door and her ear to the glass. Sam mimicked her, looking confused. I followed after a second.

"_Ok Remus spit it out." That was James. I could hear laughing, which must be Peter._

"_Fine, I like Sam, as you all know!" Remus sounded strained and a little angry. I felt Sam slide to the floor beside me and glanced at her. She was still listening._

"_Why did you need to have me say it out loud? You've all known for like… six years!" don't faint Sam, don't faint!_

"_Just wanted to hear you say it," James says and I can almost hear him shrug. _

"_Sirius, who do you like?" Remus asks suddenly and I can hear a floor board creak as someone moves uneasily. James, perhaps?_

"_You know damned well who I like; I am not thick enough to say it." Sirius growls. I suddenly wonder if perhaps the Marauders know what the technique is. Bloody Lily!_

"_James, are you in love?" Sirius asks quietly. I press my ear against the door, I can't hear anything! I feel Lily push her ear closer next to me, her expression hopeful. _

"_Yes," I hear very quietly. "You guys already knew it though. I've loved her for so long… maybe not __**love**__, love, but she's changed me just as much as you guys… she's part of my life, part of me. How can I help myself?" James continues in a low voice. I felt Lily slide down beside me and I pull her and Sam up, leading them to my usual bedroom at James' house._

I really don't get Lily's reaction; I mean _the_ James Potter just said he's in love with her and she's crying. I look down at her; she's curled up under the window, hugging a pillow. I see the answer in her eyes- he didn't use her name, she thinks it's another girl who's won his heart. I feel my heart break a little at the look on her face. I can't say anything, he's never admitted it outright like that, not to me, and nothing I say will change Lily's mind. I sit next to her and give her a hug, checking out Sam in the mean time. Man, my friends are insane.

"Sam, you ok?" I ask, and I can't help but smirk slightly. She's practically hyperventilating, and I'd be laughing if Lily wasn't still crying.

"Did he really just say that?" she asks, pointing to the door. Her hands are twisted in her tie-dyed skirt, her crinkly hair a little messy. Poor girl, she's nearly dying, I swear, but it's hilarious.

"You two have liked each other forever, but you're both too shy!" I hear a little voice below me, its Lily. I smile but roll my eyes. After another five minutes, Sam and I return to the boys, Lily wanted to spend some time alone, reading. When I announced this, James looked worried and turned to Remus, who stood up.

"I'll go grab that book for her, she wanted to read it," he says and walks away, Sam watching his every move.

"What was the technique?" I demand, looking at James, completely ignoring the womanizing pig on the bed.

"Remus and Lily developed some techniques for prefect duty, and I helped come up with them. I'm surprised Remus didn't cotton on, but hey, whatever. Did… is Lily ok?" I have a feeling that James changed his question half way through. I frown but nod, slightly distracted.

"Yeah, she'll be ok, don't worry about her, she's strong…" I trailed off. I felt Sam look at me.

"James, what kind of host are you? I'm starving!" she said, hopping down from the couch. I grinned and linked arms with her and James, and Sam grabbed Peters arm. I turned my back on the pig, still on the bed and we all skipped down stairs to the kitchens.


End file.
